Coil-forming machine.



AL. H. WOUTERS.

001L FORMING moms.

- APPLICATION FILED FEB-28, 1907. RENEWED APR. 6, 1911. 7 1,005,911 5,Pgtented Oct. 1'7, 1911.

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A. H. WOUTERSQ COIL FORMING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED IEB.28, 1907. RENEWED APR. 6, 1911.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

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rinrrnn sTArEs PATENT orrroa.

ALFRED I-I. WOUTERS, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO ALLIS-CHALMERSCOMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY, AND THE BULLOCK ELECTRIC MANUFACTURINGCOMPANY, A GORPORATION OF OHIO.

COIL-FORMING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1'7, 1911.

Application filed February 28, 1907, Serial No. 359,852. Renewed April6, 1911. Serial No. 619,400.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED H. WOUTERS, belonging to the Kingdom of theNether lands, residing at Norwood, in the county of Hamilton and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCoil-Forming ldachines, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact specification.

My invention relates to coil-forming machines and especially to machinesfor form ing coils of metallic ribbon wound edgewise.

The machines which have heretofore been generally used in windingnon-circular coils edgewise have had to be stopped every quarter or halfturn in order to shift certain bending levers. Two or more'operatorshave also usually been needed. On account of the time and labor thusrequired these coils have been very expensive.

It is the object of my invention to provide a simple machine in whichcoils of this sort may be wound automatically without other attentionthan in starting and stopping the machine. VVith my invention themachine does not need to be stopped at all during the' operation ofwinding a coil, while one attendant can easily operate it.

To this end my invention comprises the combination in a winding machine,of a former, bending means, and means for alternately moving said formerand said bending means.

Somewhat more specifically my invention comprises the combination in anedgewise winding machine, of a former having a plurality of bendingcenters, a rotatable bendingbar, and means for moving said former tobring its bending centers successively to the center of rotation of saidbending bar, and for turningsaid bending bar through a predeterminedangle as each of said bending centers isbrought to said center, ofrotation.

Other novel features of my invention will appear fronr the descriptionand drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the 1 claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my invention with some of the partsremoved;Fig. 2 1s a partial section on the line 2-- 2of Fig. 1, with therotatable table turned to bring its slot on said line Fig.3 is an.enlarged View such rectangle. somewhat larger than the body of the coilformer 19 and in outline is equidistant to the .coil former isequidistant.

of the apparatus for feeding the metallic strlp to be wound and, Fig. 1is a section of the gear between the driving source and the two drivenparts of the machine.

The stationary platform 10, supported by vided with a downwardly andinwardly extending flange 12 for supporting and guiding a rotatabletable 13, the upper surface of said table being 011 a level with theupper surface of the platform 10. The table legs 11, has a centralcircular openlng pro- 13 is fixed on the upper end of a shaft 1 1, a I

the lower end of which rests in an adjustable bearing 15. The table 13is preferably out away as shown in Fig. 1, leaving the rim and centerjoined by a sector. Along the middle of this sector is a slot 16 intowhich extends a roller 17 mounted at the center of the base 18 of, thecoil former 19. This former is supported upon the table 13 and theplatform 10 and may be of any desired shape, but is here shown arrangedfor substantially rectangular coils having rounded corners, i. 6., 1tsoutline is the locus of all points outside of and at a given distancefrom a certain rectangle, or is equidistant at all points from The base18 is preferably same rectangle to which the outline of the Thisrectangle is the one formed by joining the different bending centers ofthe former. Stationary guides 21, 22, 23 and 24: are supported by theupturned outer flanges 25 of the platform 10 and are adjustably attachedto these flanges by bolts 26 engaging grooves therein. The

guides form the sides of a box along which 7 sides the former 19successively slides.

Loosely mounted on the shaft .14 is a sleeve 30, from which an arm 31extends upwardly through the opening in the table 13. This-arm supportsa guide 32 braced by brackets 33 and engaging the base 18 of thecoil-former as shown. An extension 34 of this movable guide slides underthe stationary guides 21 to 24 inclusive as the sleeve 30 is rotated,and cotiperates with latches 35, which are movable by sliding rods 36and supported by said stationary guides, to normally prevent rotation ofthe movable guide 32 and its associated parts past them in acounter-clockwise direction. The extension 34 is arranged to be releasedfrom said latches under conditions hereafter set forth. Bolted to theupper end of the arm 31 are carriers 39 and 40, the former carrying alongitudinally slotted guide bar 41, and the latter a reel 42 for theribbon or strip 45 of copper or other material to be formed into thedesired coil and a disk 43 around which said band or strip 45 travelswhen passing from the reel 42 to the slot in the bar 41. Coiiperatingwith the disk 43 is an adjustable brake 46 for giving the desiredtension to the strip as it is being bent edgewise. The disk 43 and brake46 are supported between lateral arms 44from the arm 31.

A motor 50 is arranged to drive a shaft 51, which rotates in bearings 52supportedin any desired manner from the platform 10, as by means ofcrossbeams 53. Between the bearings 52 are two housings 54 and 55. Onthe outside of these two housings are bevel gears 56 and 57respectively, meshing with bevel gears 58 and 59 respectively on thecollar 30 and the table 13 respectively, as shown. Fixed on the shaft 51within the housings 54 and 55 is a pinion 60, meshing with like planetgears 61 and 62 supported by collars 63 and 64 loose on the shaft 51.The planet gears 61 and 62 mesh with an internal gear on the housing 55.Other like planet gears 65 and 66 are arranged to turn with the gears 61and 62 respectively, and mesh with an internal gear on the housing 54.The diameter of the like gears 61 and 62 is different from that of theother like gears 65 and 66. In this case the gears 65 and 66 areslightly smaller than the gears 61 and 62 so that the internal gear onthe housing 54 is also slightly smaller than that on the housing 55.There fore, if the housing 55 is held stationary while the shaft 51 isrotated, the housing 54 will rotate in the same direction as the shaft51, while if the housing 54 is held stationary while said shaft isrotated, the housing 55 will move in the opposite direction. Thus as thegears 58 and 59 are respectively below and above the shaft 51, rotationof said shaft tends to drive both the collar 30 and the table 13 in thesame direction, which, in case the shaft 51 is rotated in the directionof the arrow, is counter-clockwise.

The operation of the device is as folvented.

lows :With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, the guide 32 isbearing against the base 18' in such a manner that counterclockwisemovement of said guide is pre- The latch 35 on guide 23 also serves toprevent counter-clockwise movement of this guide. Thus the housing 54and bending mechanism are locked against movement, while the housing 55and the table 13 are free to move. As the table 13 is movedcounter-clockwise by the rotation of the motor 50 it drives the coilformer 19 toward the guide 23 because of the engagement of the slot 16and roller 17. In this movement the former 19 moves in a straight line,being constrained to do so by the guides 22 and 32. The former 19continues to move in this manner Lmtil it reaches the guide 23, whichprevents it from moving farther in this direction while the guide 32prevents it from moving to the left (Fig. 1). Thus the table 13 andhousing 55 become temporarily locked against further movement. In themovement of the former 19 just described, the copper strip 45 is unwoundfrom the reel 42 and drawn around the disk 43 under the brake 46 andinto the slot in the bar 41.

hen the former 19 reaches the fixed guide 23 it releases the movableguide 32 both by itself getting out of the way of the counter-clockwisemovement of said guide and also by pushing in the rod 36 to raise thelatch 35. Thus the housing 54 and its connected mechanism are releasedand the housing 55 and its connected mechanism are lockedsimultaneously. Continued movement of the motor 50 now drives the housing 54 and its associated parts counterclockwise around the aXis of theshaft 14, the slotted bar 41 both bending the copper strip around thecorner a of the former 19 and preventing said strip from buckling. Italso unwinds enough copper from the reel 42 to form this corner. In thiscase there is a bend of 90 at this corner, and so when the bendingmechanism has moved through a quarter of a rotation the guide 32 strikesthe side of the base 18 toward the guide 21 and also the left hand latch35, both of these serving to stop said guide 32 and-lock the housing 54and the bending mechanism driven thereby. At the same time that theseparts are locked the guide 32 has become parallel with the guide 23,thereby opening the way for the former 19 to be moved rectilinearly tothe left, (Fig. 1) by means of housing 55, bevel gear 59, table 13, slot16 and roller 17. This movement to the left draws more of the copperstrip from the reel 42 into the slot in the bar 41, and continues untilthe guide 24 is reached. Upon this the guide 32 and the bendingmechanism are again released for another rotation through 90, bendingthe copper of the coil, and the bending mechanism is strip about thecorner 5 of the former 19. Thus alternately the former 19 is moved bytranslation to bring its different bending centers successively in linewith the axis of the shaft 14.- and to unwind from the reel 42 enoughcopper strip 45 to form one side rotated to bend the strip edgewisearound the said centers and to unwind enough cop' per to form one cornerof the coil. This action will automatically continue as long as desired.The slotted members 28 serve to guide and support the last finished halfturn of the coil as the former 19 is being moved by translation and asthe bending bar 41 is rotated, thus preventing any sagging of the woundcoil directly from the bar 41. After the next one or two sides of thecoil have been formed, each side is allowed to slide down on the former19.

WVhen the entire coil is completed it may be removed after first movingoutward one of the adjustable stationary guides, say 23, and swingingaround member 28 on said guide. This permits the former to move fartherthan usual when it next approaches said guide, so that upon the rotationof the guide 32 and bar 41 there is enough space for the removal of thecoil. Any desired means for preventing movement of the former 19 as theguide 32 moves away from it may be used, such, for instance, as a pindropped through registering holes in the table 13 and flange 12. Afterthe coil is removed the motor 50 may be started to drive the formeralong the guide which was set outward, and then along the guide adjacentthereto in a counter-clockwise direction, whereupon the guide which wasset outward may be set back again to its proper position. Or, ifdesired, the finished coil may be removed after first removing thecarriers 39 and 4.0 and the parts carried thereby. By substituting othercoil formers 19 and prop erly adjusting the guides 21 to 2st inclusive,coils of any desired size may be wound. By substituting other bendingbars 41 and slotted members 28 any size strip may be bent. Instead ofhaving the guides 21 to 241 inclusive arranged to form a rectangle, theymay form any other desired figure, a rectangle being shown merelybecause it is the simplest. The former 19 will move in any'pathdetermined by the stationary guides 21 to 24 and the movable guide 32.The latches are not absolutely necessary and may often be omitted. Theyare additional locks merely and serve to prevent creeping of the bendingmechanism as the former 19 in its rectangular movement approaches thedifi'erent guides 21 to 24 inclusive.

Many other modifications may be 1r aole in, the precise arrangementsherein shown and I described and all such as do not involve a,

departure from the spirit and scope of my for ters of the formersuccessively into a prede-.

termined relation to the bending means and for turning the other of saidelements about each of said bending centers as it is reached.

3. In a winding machine, a former having a plurality of bending centers,bending means, means, for moving one of the aforesaid elements to bringthe bending centers of the former successively into a predeterminedrelation to the bending means and for turning the other of said elementsabout each of said bending centers as it is reached,.and amaterial-supplying device movable with the V bending means.

1. In a winding machine, a former, bendlng means, and means for movingsaid former in a polygonal path and for turning said bending means.

In a windlng machine, a former movf able in a polygonal path, rotatablebending means, and means for successively moving said former along aside of its path and turning said bending means through an angle equalto the angle formed by two adjacent sides of said path.

6. In a winding machine, a former, a

bending bar, and means for moving said former along a plurality ofrectilinear paths successively and for turning said bending barintermediately.

'7. In a winding machine, a former movable by translation in asubstantially rectangular path, arotatable bending bar, and means formoving said former intermittently along its path, and for rotating thebending bar during the intermissions in the movements of the former.

8. In a winding machine, a former mov able in a substantiallyrectangular path, rotatable bending means, and means for moving saidformer along its pat-h, and for turning said bending means throughsubstantially a right angle after a movement of the former along oneside of its path.

'9. In a winding machine, a former, a bending bar, and means fortranslating said former successively along the diiierent sides of arectangular path, and for rotating said bending bar through a rightangle after the former has traversed each side of its path.

10. In a winding machine, a polygonal boX, a former, bending means, andmeans sliding said former along the sides of the .means rotatable aboutthe center of said box, and means for sliding said former along eachside of said boX successively and for turning said bending meanspartially about the former after said former has been moved along eachside of the box.

13. In a winding machine, a former, rotatable bending means, means forsuccessively moving the former by translation partially around thecenter of rotation of the bending means, and the bending means byrotation partially around the former.

14. In a winding machine, a former, bending means, and means foralternately moving the former by translation along the bending means,and moving the bending means by rotation partially around the former.

15. In a winding machine, a former having a plurality of bendingcenters, a rotatable bending bar, and means for moving said former tobring its difi'erent bending centers successively to the point aboutwhich said bending bar rotates, and to turn said bending bar about saidpoint when each of said bending centers reaches it.

16. In a winding machine, a former having a plurality of bendingcenters, a rotatable bending bar, means for moving said former to bringits different bending centers successively to the point about which saidbending bar rotates, and to turn said bending bar about said point wheneach of said bending centers reaches it, and a materialsupplying devicerotatable with said bending bar.

17. In a winding machine, a former having a plurality of bendingcenters, a rotatable bending bar, and means for moving said former tobring one of its bending centers to the center of rotation of saidbending bar, and for turning said bending bar a predetermined angleabout its center of rotation alternately.

18. In combination, two rotatable members, a single means tending todrive both of said members, and mechanism for looking said membersalternately.

19. In combination, two rotatable members, a single means tending todrive both of said members, and mechanism for automatically locking saidmembers alternately.

20. In combination, two rotatable members, a single means tending todrive both of said members in the same direction, and mechanism wherebysaid members alternately lock each other against movement.

21. In a winding machine, a former, a bending bar, and means forautomatically rotating one of said parts and translating the other.

22. In a winding machine, a former, bending means, and means forautomatically translating one of said parts and rotating the otheralternately.

23. In a winding machine, a former, bending means, and means for movingsaid former different distances rectilinearly, and for intermediatelyrotating said bending means.

24. The combination with a former, of means for moving it longitudinallyto draw in fresh portions of a metallic strip to be bent edgewise, amember for holding the strip against the edge of the former, and meansfor revolving said member about the former.

25. In a winding machine, a former, a rotatable member on which saidformer is supported, a pin and slot connection between V said former andsaid member, a plurality of adjustable stationary guides and a singlemovable guide for constraining said former to move by translation in astraight line when said member is rotated, a bending bar movable withsaid movable guide, and means for alternately rotating said rotatablemember and turning said guide and bending bar.

26. In an edgewise-winding machine, the combination with a former,guides for causing said former to move in straight lines, a bending barrotatable about the former, and driving means tending to drive both saidformer and said bending bar, said former and said bending bar being sointerrelated that when either one is movable forward it locks the otherone.

27. In an edgewise-winding machine, the combination with a former,guides for causing said former to move in straight lines, a bending barrotatable about the former, and driving means tending to drive both saidformer and said bending bar, said former and said bending bar being sointerrelated that each locks and unlocks the other as it is unlocked andlocked respectively by the other.

28. In an edgewise-winding machine, the combination with a former,guides for causing said former to move in straight lines, a bending barrotatable about the former, and driving means tending to drive both saidformer and said bending bar, said former and said bending bar being sointerrelated that the members are movable alternately, each locking andunlocking the other at the beginning and end respectively of its ownmovement.

29. In an edgewise-winding machine, the combination with a former,guides for causing said former to move in straight lines, a bending barrotatable about the former, and driving means tending to drive both saidformer and said bending bar, said former and said bending bar being sointer-' related that each alternately locks and unlocks the other and ismovable intermediately.

30. In combination, a former, bending means, rotatable members fordriving said former and said bending means respectively, and means forautomatically actuating said rotatable members alternately.

31. In combination, a former, bending means, and a single means tendingto translate one of said elements and to rotate the other about thatone.

32. In combination, a former, bending means, a single means tending totranslate one of said elements and to rotate the other about that one,and means fo'r locking said elements alternately.

33. In a winding machine, a former, a bending member, and means forrotating one of said elements intermittently and for translating theother in the intermissions of the movement of the one.

34. In a Winding machine, a former, a

bending member, means for rotating one of said elements intermittentlyand for translating the other in the intermissions of the movement ofthe one, and means for locking the rotatable member during thetranslation of the other. 7

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALFRED H. WOUTERS. Witnesses:

GEO. B. SOHLEY, FRED J. KINsEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

